Bombshell (G1)
| The name or term "Bombshell" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bombshell (disambiguation). |
- Bombshell is a Decepticon Insecticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
A master of mind-controlling "cerebro-shells", the twisted Bombshell plays with the minds of others as a child would a new toy, enthusiastically and recklessly. But there is nothing childlike about the gleeful malice he exposes in forcing his victims into more and more humiliating and destructive acts. Bombshell takes such sadistic joy in the destruction of his victims that even the other Decepticons can be put off, wondering if he wouldn't be just as pleased to play those same "games" with them...
His Action Master partner is Needler. He is sometimes known as Hardshell.
Fiction
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Michael Bell (English), Ken Shiroyama (Japanese), Edgar Wald (Latin American), Gianluca Crisafi (Italian, second dub)
Bombshell and the rest of the Insecticons jettisoned themselves out the Decepticon cruiser when it and the Autobot ship crashed on Prehistoric Earth. Landing in what would become modern Bali off of Indonesia, the Insecticons were altered by their idento-computers to possess insectoid beast modes, and had the ability to convert organic matter into energon. The Insecticons were largely communal in nature, though Bombshell often alternated leadership with Shrapnel (Kickback was out of luck).
Reactivating around the same time as those aboard the Ark, the Insecticons formed a small nest for themselves in Demon Swamp before being tracked down by Megatron and the Decepticons. They formed an alliance for the purpose of collecting energon and vanquishing the Autobots. In their first encounter with the enemy, Bombshell demonstrated one of the most unique of the trio's abilities—after firing an "insecti-shell" at a farming machine to blow it into pieces, he and the other Insecticons used "clone beams" to somehow convert those fragments of metal into duplicates of the Insecticons in their insect modes, a virtual swarm of Insecticlones created nearly out of thin air.
The initial alliance between Decepticons and Insecticons broke down after the greedy insects attempted to gorge themselves on the cache of energon cubes Megatron had created, and then abandoned the Decepticons to the Autobots. After that, the two groups operated independently, only joining forces as a matter on convenience on rare occasions. A Plague of Insecticons
Bombshell and the Insecticons next hired out their services to Megatron during his experimentation with the electro-cells as on-call guards, in exchange for a share of the profits. The Autobot Mirage attempted to turn them against each other, however, by stealing the Insecticons' reward and framing the Decepticons for it. Bombshell and the others staged an assault on the electro cell station and their Decepticon "comrades". During a spray of one of Shrapnel's grenades, Mirage was inadvertently caught in the blast while invisible. Bombshell seized upon the opportunity to implant one of his cerebro-shells in the fallen Autobot and turn him into a slave. What he DIDN'T do, however, is question what an Autobot counter-intelligence agent was doing sneaking around Decepticon camp just then. Megatron had to force Bombshell to think at gunpoint before he realized that Megatron wouldn't rob them while Optimus Prime and the Autobots still lived. Maybe after, but not before. The united 'Cons then attempted to set a trap for the Autobots using Mirage, but ultimately Mirage was set free and the electro-cells were destroyed. Traitor
Next, Bombshell's aid was commissioned to upgrade the human-built female ninja robot known as Nightbird for Megatron, converting her into a functional assassin. His engineering skills shown here were rather remarkable for someone with no table manners. Enter the Nightbird
On their next joint venture, Megatron arranged for Bombshell and the Insecticons to have access to the Nova Power Core, a meal that filled them with raw energy and caused them to increase in size dramatically. In exchange, they aided the Decepticons in raiding the armored installation known as Iron Mountain to gain control of the defense computer being housed there. Their new power went to their heads, however, and the Insecticons were overheard plotting against Megatron by his spy Soundwave. Soundwave didn't get far, however, before Bombshell captured the Decepticon and turned him with the help of a cerebro-shell.
He then systematically "bugged" the rest of Megatron's troops; by the time Iron Mountain was successfully infiltrated, Megatron was the only Decepticon left. The nova power proved to be too unstable for the Insecticons to synthesize, however, and an antidote was administered to rob Bombshell and Kickback of their additional mass and power. Shrapnel, however, exploded into pieces before the antidote could be properly administered. Somehow, though, Bombshell was able to completely reconstruct his fallen comrade in a matter of seconds, using a special insecti-shell to reunify the pieces. The Insecticon Syndrome
In another scheme, Megatron convinced the Insecticons that he had a new energon processing system that could draw power from their organic-conversion process far more efficiently than their bodies normally could. The Insecticons would gather vast amounts of power through their clone armies, and then return to Decepticon headquarters to refine their amassed energies into energon cubes. Little did they know that the refinement process was far more effective than Megatron presented—Bombshell and the others were given scraps while dozens of cubes were being produced by their efforts. They slowly began to wise up to Megatron's duplicity and, when his henchman Thrust attempted to warn them away from a certain valley, the Insecticons took it as a sign there was something valuable there. In fact there was: a can of robotic insecticide the Autobots had planned to use against the Insecticlones, and an ever-growing number of Morphobots, techno-organic plants that fed on robot insects. Bombshell and the Insecticons attempted to feed on the plants, only to have their food "bite back" and their entire clone army destroyed in a matter of minutes. Quest for Survival
Bombshell would ultimately be mortally wounded during the battle of Autobot City and was ejected alongside many other fallen Decepticon warriors (Megatron included), into deep space, where Unicron reformatted him into Cyclonus or the other guy. The Transformers: The Movie
Either he got better or that was an identical clone, because all three Insecticons, along with the Combaticons and Soundwave, were later seen on Earth trying to stop Wheelie, Blurr, Marissa Faireborn and Sky Lynx from delivering the Transformation cog to Metroplex. They were trampled by Sky Lynx. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
Marvel Comics continuity
Bombshell was first seen as a soldier on Cybertron, operating out of Darkmount under the command of Lord Straxus. The Smelting Pool! Bombshell was one of the Decepticon warriors targeted for termination by the Wreckers in Operation: Volcano. A last minute change in orders prevented Bombshell and his cronies from walking into the Autobot trap, though. Target: 2006 After Straxus began an alliance with Megatron and the Decepticons of Earth, Bombshell was transported to our solar system by way of the space bridge. He, Kickback, and Shrapnel were then reformatted into the Insecticons, and granted impressive mass shifting powers that enabled them to shrink down to the size of actual insects when transforming.
The Insecticons' first mission on Earth was to set up a conduit between Cybertron and Hoover Dam, stealing the hydro-electrical power. Bombshell tracked down the assistant chief engineer, Ricky Vasquez, and implanted him with a cerebro-shell so that the Decepticons could infiltrate the plant clandestinely. With Megatron and the Insecticons riding shotgun, Vasquez snuck them into the control room where Shrapnel was able to take electronic control of the dam. Vasquez eventually managed to reassert his free will however and, with the interference of the Aerialbots, the Decepticon operation proved ineffective. Aerialbots over America!
Still, Bombshell took advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate the Ark by riding atop Silverbolt back to the Autobot base. While inside, he seized a chance to fire one of his cerebro-shell inside Optimus Prime during a medical exam where Ratchet was cleaning a recent wound. He was unable to actually control Prime, but managed something almost as good—by piping in a radio connection to Megatron through Soundwave, Bombshell's implant was able to divert some of the Creation Matrix to the Decepticons, bringing life to the Stunticons just as Prime was finalizing the life-sparks of the Aerialbots. Bombshell's implant was eventually discovered, but the damage was done. Heavy Traffic!
Later, Megatron commissioned Bombshell and Dirge to take control of the human creation known as Power Station Alpha. Sighting Bumblebee casing the installation, Bombshell blasted a human boy with a cerebro-shell as a distraction, sending him off into danger while the Decepticon infiltrated Alpha and placed a specially-modified shell inside. Blood on the Tracks Things were too hot to retrieve it then, with the G.I. Joe team taking hostile action against Bumblebee and then being confronted themselves by Superion, but later that night the remote control was triggered and Power Station Alpha sprung to life. Surprisingly for the Decepticons, though, it did NOT come to their base as programmed—Doctor Mindbender of Cobra was able to lock onto the electronic frequency of Bombshell's shell and bring Alpha to Cobra Island instead. Dirge and Bombshell were therefore forced into the position of emissaries for the Decepticon cause, proposing an alliance between them and Cobra in order to share Power Station Alpha's potential. Power Struggle
While Mindbender was acting as Cobra's "ambassador", he uncovered the severity of their plans for Alpha, and the devastating effect it would have on the Earth. Once Cobra switched sides and joined in an alliance with the Joes and the Autobots, Mindbender was deemed "surplus parts" and Bombshell attempted to execute him. Instead, the Insecticon was disabled by a blast from one of the Baroness's cannon weapons. As the two Cobra agents left to join Serpentor in conference with their new "friends", Mindbender scooped up the unconscious Bombshell (who had reverted to his tiny insect mode) in the hopes of dissecting his circuitry later. Only after arriving at the Joe base did they discover the connection between Bombshell and his cerebro-shells, as the Joe technical expert Mainframe prodded the shell which had been surgically retrieved from the boy Bombshell blasted days earlier, causing the still-inactive Insecticon to spontaneously transform out of his own control. ...All Fall Down!
How Bombshell eventually regained control of his systems and returned to the Decepticons is unknown, but he did and was later seen participating in a raid on an oil tanker. He used his cerebro-shells to quickly locate the vessel's control room. Unfortunately, the tanker turned out to be dry.Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom When Decepticon leadership eventually passed to Ratbat, Bombshell was seen among his troops.Totaled!
Earthforce
Bombshell and the Insecticons were allied with Megatron during the Decepticon Civil War against Shockwave. He attended the Enclave held by the two factions, but it didn't go well and Bombshell was later seen among the massive melee between the Decepticon armies. The Bad Guy's Ball! Bombshell and the Insecticons were later tasked by Megatron to infiltrate Shockwave's base and spy on his war room to gain secret intelligence. Bombshell had tapped into the room with a listening prong right before Starscream arrived, and caught the tiny intruders with a rustbug hoop. Forced to submit, the Insecticons were surprised that Starscream wasn't going to torture or kill them: instead, he offered them a juicy bit of gossip that Shockwave would be off alone on a mission soon. Bombshell realized that Starscream was setting his leader up for a fall, arranging for both Megatron and Shockwave to be disposed of in one felt swoop. He seemed okay with it. Bugged!
Sure enough, Megatron and Shockwave were soon excommunicated from their respective armies, and the Decepticons united under the command of Starscream and Soundwave. Bombshell was present at the united Decepticons' first major military action, an attack on Autobot Earthbase. Divide and Conquer! Soon, however, he turned his talents to less overt and more deceitful activities. At his leaders' request, Bombshell implanted the mighty warrior Superion with one of his cerebro-shells, turning the giant against the human populace in order to smear the Autobots' image. A human reporter named Irwin Spoon managed to get inside Superion at the Autobots' request, however, and remove the shell before any permanent damage was done. Inside Story! Bombshell's follow-up surveillance revealed that the Autobots had offered the reporter an exclusive interview in exchange for his assistance. Such a positive "puff-piece" would go a long way towards improving the Autobots' image among the humans, and could not be allowed by the Decepticons. So, Soundwave and Starscream arranged for the Stunticons to kidnap Spoon. Front Line! Trapping him inside Motormaster's cabin, the Stunticons led the Autobots on a merry chase through the highways until they finally forced Motormaster off the road and recovered Spoon. The damage had been done, however; unknown to the Autobots, Bombshell had been hiding inside Motormaster's cab, and implanted the reporter with a cerebro-shell before losing custody of the human. Irwin Spoon therefore wrote exactly the piece the Decepticons wanted, painting the Autobots as evil kidnappers set to destroy mankind. End of the Road!
Dreamwave comics continuity
Bombshell, sporting a spiffy tank mode, was first seen on Cybertron millions of years ago as part of a commando group being directed by Soundwave in a raid on Iacon. The War Within #2 They ran into Optimus Prime on his first day on the job. It still hurt. A lot. The War Within #3 During the Dark Ages, Bombshell and his fellow future Insecticons served under Shockwave as part of the primary Decepticon faction. At one point, they assaulted Bludgeon and the Chaos Trinity in Altihex to stop the chaos unleashed by the Fallen. Conflagration Bombshell was also present at Tyger Pax during the aborted peace treaty between the Autobots, Decepticons and Ultracons. Megatron's sudden arrival with the Aerospace Extermination Squadron put a quick stop to those peace talks. The Age of Wrath He later got to guard Autobot prisoners. The Age of Wrath Pt.2
Prior to the Great Shutdown, Shockwave uncovered the crash location of the missing ships the Ark and Nemesis: Earth. He sent Kickback, Shrapnel and Bombshell to the planet as part of some vast, incomprehensible scheme he'd been perfecting for millennia. They initially encountered resistance from the Dynobots, but gave them the slip and went undercover on Earth for 48 thousand vorns. The Rules of Extinction
In modern times, however, Bombshell seemed to have developed a few loose screws and begun operating outside his mission parameters. Having taken over a small town in rural America, Bombshell had begun mass production of techno-organic Insecticlones being grown from special pods. Infestation His actions drew the attention of Earth Defense Command and Jazz's Autobot faction, leading to an investigation of the town. The Autobots managed to uncover the Insecticons' schemes, free the townspeople, and capture their opponents. It was easy. Perhaps, too easy...? Extermination
Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comics
Bombshell-type Insecticons were part of the dreaded Insecticon swarms on an alternate future Earth ruled by the Decepticons. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 3
IDW comics continuity
Shortly after Thunderwing's apocalyptic assault across Cybertron, a tiny mechanoid insect called Bombshell injected a cerebro-shell into Beachcomber on Soundwave's behalf. The shell enabled Soundwave to make Beachcomber into an assassin, sending him after Blaster, the inspirational broadcaster for the Autobots. Spotlight: Blaster
Several hundred years later, Bombshell was created (uh...) on Cybertron as the first non-insane Insecticon. Shortly after his creation, he constructed a portal between Cybertron and Earth, which the Decepticons used to dump defeated Autobots in. All Hail Megatron #7 After using the portal to get rid of the Autobots on Earth, the Decepticons attacked New York City. During the assault, Bombshell tore apart Air Force jets in his giant beetle mode. All Hail Megatron #1 He later attended Megatron's glorious victory speech in the ruins of the city, but the line about the Decepticons being "united in our cause" clearly wasn't quite true. All Hail Megatron #3
Battle lines started being drawn between the Insecticons and the Seekers. In Beijing, Bombshell began openly mocking Skywarp and the Seekers as "Yesterday's news", ignored by their flight commander and cast aside by Megatron in favor of the Constructicons. Despite his mind games, though, Bombshell and the united Insecticons quickly scurried off when both Skywarp and Thundercracker stood up against them. All Hail Megatron #6 After returning to New York, Bombshell was approached by Starscream, who apologized for the behavior of his fellow Seekers, and told the Insecticons about how he envisioned the future of the Decepticon Empire—a vision which incidentally included Starscream as the leader. At some point during the conquest of Earth, Bombshell also captured former Headmaster Hunter O'Nion and started performing twisted experiments on him. All Hail Megatron #8
Using Jhiaxus's technology, given to the Decepticons by Sixshot Spotlight: Metroplex, Bombshell constructed a space bridge in New York. In addition, he managed to use Hunter to create a "hub" of some sort, which the Decepticons used to find Autobots all across the galaxy and deactivate their defenses. When Megatron complimented his work, Bombshell explained that human minds intrigued him, and that he found experimenting on them to be quite "delicious". He then promptly betrayed Megatron, as he had been sucked in by Starscream's words earlier and took the Seeker's side in his rebellion. In response, Megatron threw Kickback at him. All Hail Megatron #10
Not long afterwards, the Autobots returned to Earth, and a massive battle broke out in New York. Bombshell jumped Sideswipe and taunted the Autobot by claiming to have toyed with his brother's mind with information he had extracted from Hunter. He was punched out by Kup before he could kill Sideswipe, however, and the Decepticons soon found themselves defeated. All Hail Megatron #12 As the Decepticons fled the planet aboard Astrotrain, Bombshell cheered for Starscream when he revealed that he was in possession of the Matrix of Leadership. Uneasy Lies the Head
Despite Starscream's "ascension", however, the Decepticon army began to crumble without clear direction. Bombshell and the rest of Starscream's followers eventually retreated to a lifeless planetoid in a distant solar system. Refugees from the broken Decepticon war machine began to trickle in over the next three years until nearly 100 were cowering together in the dark. Starscream ordered Bombshell to find some way to strengthen their meager energon reserves and keep what remained of the army properly fueled.
Bombshell regarded this as a fool's errand, and left the Decepticons to reach "population saturation" on their own, as the strong cannibalized the weak for resources. Instead, Bombshell worked on perfecting cerebro-shell technology, and cobbled together a prototype to present to Starscream. It proved highly effective against the dissident Quake, who attacked Starscream at that moment for reasons of his own. Bombshell's little toy incapacitated Quake long enough for Starscream to eliminate the mutineer. Intrigued, Starscream requested Bombshell begin production of more cerebro-shells. All His Engines
Later, Bombshell reported to an uninterested Starscream that an approaching Autobot ship had crashed into their defenses. Tempted by the Matrix, he made an offer to take care of the relic, but Starscream violently repulsed him. Together with Shrapnel and Acid Storm, he went to scavenge the ship's wreckage for anything useful, only to be attacked by the pilot, Rodimus. Bombshell tried to fire one of his new cerebro-shells at the intruder, who blocked it with a piece of metal and defeated him. Heart Like a Wheel
Megatron would later use space bridge technology built into in his new body to summon Bombshell and the rest of the Decepticons to him on Cybertron. At first they did battle with the Autobots, but were soon mind-controlled by Galvatron into combining with his Sweep army and forming a huge monster. Chaos Part Three: Kings Once this monster was defeated, the Decepticons were left weakened and easily captured by the Autobots. After three weeks in captivity, they were released to help the Autobots beat down a NAIL riot, though with I/D chip implants to keep them from going overboard. The Death of Optimus Prime
Hearts of Steel
Along with several other Decepticons, Bombshell awoke in the late 19th century when a sunken human submarine crashed onto their submerged ship. Hearts of Steel #1 He spent some time helping his comrades construct things underwater before being ordered by Starscream to obtain "money" for their human ally, Tobias Muldoon. Taking on a new alternate mode alongside Kickback and Shrapnel, Bombshell transformed into the middle portion of the "Insectrain", which used his head-mounted cannon as a turret. The Insecticons attacked a train carrying money and gold from the Denver Mint, shrugging off the primitive weaponry of its human guards. Although he didn't see the value in tiny sheets of paper, Bombshell followed orders and delivered the loot to Starscream and Muldoon by the next morning. Hearts of Steel #2 He was later present when Starscream announced to his troops that the Autobots had awakened as well. Hearts of Steel #3
Games
The Transformers (PS2)
Toys
Generation 1
- Bombshell (Insecticon, 1985)
- Japanese ID number: 41
- Accessories: "Twin Ion Impulse Blaster"
- Bombshell transforms into a robotic rhinoceros beetle. He doesn't do a whole lot more than that. There is a variation on the mold's insect-mode horn; some versions have a rounded indent on the "top" part near the base-joint, allowing it to fold down further in robot mode. As a legacy of his past as a mold from the Diaclone toyline, he has an opening canopy that can seat a Diaclone driver figure.
- In Japan, Bombshell and the other Insecticons were "re-released" as mail-order items from 1987 through 1988. They each cost 880 yen (their normal retail price) and two robot points.
- This mold was used to make the Salvo drones.
- Bombshell (Action Master, 1991)
- Accessories: "Needler" partner, rifle
- Action Master Bombshell is a non-transforming action figure that combines the cartoon model with a few toy-based elements. Interestingly enough, his distinctive head-cannon is no longer on his skull, but his hand-held blaster bears a similar design. He comes with his robot scarab partner Needler, who forms a backpack/battle helmet for Bombshell. He was only available in the European markets.
- Insectrons (Multi-pack, 2004)
- Japanese ID number: 16 (full set)
- Bombshell was released as part of the Japanese "Transformers Collection" series in a set with Kickback and Shrapnel. This set also included three energon cube accessories that fit inside their chest compartments.
- The Bombshell in this set not only lacks the horn-indent of later variations, but has a couple other minor mold-differences to boot, with the horn lacking the "bumps" near the tip and base.
- Insecticons (Toys"R"Us multi-pack, 2009)
- Bombshell was released as part of the Universe line, as a Toys"R"Us exclusive, in a set with his Insecticon pals. Like with his 2008 Robot Heroes incarnation (see below), Bombshell has been renamed Hardshell for trademark reasons. Likewise Shrapnel has had his name changed to "Sharpshot".
- This Bombshell uses the slightly retooled "Transformers Collection" version of the horn. The tiny insect-mode legs on the middle of his arms have also been retooled to be detachable, owing to breakage issues.
Merchandise
Decoy
- Bombshell (Decoy, 1987)
- Bombshell was one of the Decepticon Decoys packed in with smaller carded Transformers toys. While the normal purple version could come on any Decepticon toy, the rarer red version was available only on Throttlebot cards and only for a short while before the switch to purple.
- Destron Hero Collection-22 Set (Decoy multi-pack, 1987)
- The entire run of twenty-two Decepticon Decoys were sold as a single boxed set in Japan, only in purple.
Hard Hero
- Bombshell (Hard Hero statue, 2003)
- Number 3 in Hard Hero's "Insecticon Series", Bombshell is a 9-inch cold-cast porcelain statue sculpted by Jason Ray. Only a thousand pieces of the statue were produced.
Robot Heroes
- Perceptor Vs. Hardshell (2008)
- Another victim of trademark losses, Bombshell's Robot Heroes figurine goes by the name "Hardshell". Part of the fourth wave of Universe Robot Heroes, he's packed versus Perceptor as part of the "Generation 1 Series". His sculpt and colors are based mostly on his character model.
Notes
- Bombshell—like the other Insecticons—was originally a Diaclone "Waruder Kabutron" evil alien piloted mech in different colors... which were eventually used when the trio were redecoed for e-Hobby release. This is also the genesis of those opening chest compartments.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Bombshell (ボンブシェル Bonbusheru)
- French: Obus (Canada)
- Italian: Prudox
- Mandarin: Jà-dàn (炸彈, "Bombshell")
- Portuguese: Granada (Portugal comic), Bomba (Brazil comic)
- Russian: Bombomjot (cartoon, Бомбомёт, "Bomber")
- Ukrainian: Hranata (ICTV, Граната, "Grenade")
